


Putting Together the Shards

by cindyls1969



Series: Putting Together the Shards [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-11
Updated: 2013-12-11
Packaged: 2018-01-04 08:48:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1078980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cindyls1969/pseuds/cindyls1969





	Putting Together the Shards

**Chapter:** 1  
 **Pairing:** Drarry  
 **Rating:** NC 17 eventually  
 **Warnings:** non-con (not between Drarry) violence, talk of self-harm  
 **Disclaimer:** HP world and Characters belong to JK Rowling. Cracky story idea is mine. I'm not making nothing off of it.  
 **A/N:** Don't ask me where this came from, but it wouldn't leave me alone till I wrote it.

The snow fell heavily as Harry stepped out the front door of St. Mungo’s. It was cold and he couldn’t wait to get home and curl up in front of his fire with a glass of fire whiskey. It had been a long day.

He needed to stop and grab something for his supper, so once he was past the wards of the hospital, he apparated to the alley behind the Leaky Cauldron. He pushed through the hidden gate into the courtyard of the old pub and was surprised to find other people there.

There was a group of five boys, the oldest being about eleven, throwing rocks at what looked like a large bundle of rags that had been shoved against the wall. He walked past them and would have continued into the pub if he hadn’t heard a whimper.

Whipping his head around, he heard it again and realized it was coming from the bundle.

“Hey there, you lot. Get away from there.” He thought they must have an animal trapped in the material and went over to free it.

“We’re not doin nothing wrong, mister. It’s not like it’s anything important.” The oldest boy sneered up at him until Harry unintentionally pushed his bangs back to get them out of his eyes. When the boys saw the scar, recognition dawned and they all backed away.

“Sorry Mr. Potter. We didn’t mean to bother you none.” The biggest child kicked the bundle before walking away and it gave a pitiful whimper of pain. “It’s not like he doesn’t deserve it. That’s what my dad says anyhow.”

Harry was aghast. “That’s a person?” He rushed over and stood in front of the tangle of cloth. “What in Merlin’s name is wrong with you? No one deserves to be treated like this?”

The biggest boy sneered again. “Bet you won’t be saying that when you see who it is.” He turned to his friends, motioning for them to follow him, but Harry stopped them with a quick freezing charm.

“I want your names. I’ll be sending an owl to all your parents about this.” They all shook their heads and he gave a flick of his wrist, turning them upside down for a few seconds before righting them. “Names, now. And no lying. I’ll know if you are.”

They all started speaking at once and when he had the names straight, he unfroze them and let them go. Turning back to the person cowering behind him, he started to speak.

“Okay now. They’re gone. Come on, let’s see who you are.” He reached for the hood that he could now plainly make out but stopped when the person shuddered and cried out before speaking.

“No…don’t. Please. Need to go home…my mother…needs me.” The voice was low and raspy and obviously male and the words trailed off into a cough that seemed to almost shake the poor man apart.

Harry crouched down, trying to seem less intimidating and spoke as calmly as he could. “It’s okay, I won’t hurt you, I promise. I just want to help you.”  
He reached his hand out once more, carefully but determine to see the man’s face. He whimpered and shivered, but made no move to stop Harry.

He grimaced in disgust at the greasy, crusty feeling of the fabric as he slowly pulled the hood back.

Harry had been nurse at St. Mungo’s for three years. After the war, he decided that he wanted to help people, not hunt them down, so he for once took advantage of the fact that everyone seemed determine to repay him for saving them and asked for a job at the hospital.

They started him with the same jobs every nurse started with, at his request. He’d done the lowest jobs that no one else wanted to do and did them happily. All he wanted was to be of some use.

When they discovered that he had an aptitude for dealing with mental patients, they put him on the same ward as Neville Longbottom’s parents. There he’d figured out that his quiet deportment and great stores of patience made him a good candidate for settling in the newly admitted.

He’d bathed more filthy people than most wizards or witches could even imagine but he’d never seen anyone as filthy as the young man cowering before him.

Guessing the color of his hair was impossible, and Harry shuddered when he realized that he could see that it was crawling with lice. It wasn’t a pest that was common in the Wizarding community so he guessed that the person had been in the muggle world for some time.

He was obviously a wizard, though or he wouldn’t have known about the entrance to Diagon Alley that was out behind the Leaky.

Casting a repelling charm against the lice, he spoke to the man again. “Who are you? You said you needed to get to your mother. If you tell me who she is, I might be able to help you find her?”

A voice answered from behind him, startling him and causing the other man to curl even further into himself. “You’d best just leave that wretch alone, Harry.”

It was Tom, the owner of the pub. He was standing on the back step, looking down at Harry, shaking his head. “He can’t go to his mother. He’s been banished from the Wizarding world and can’t go back.”

He took out a pouch and filled the pipe he had clenched between his teeth. He lit it before speaking again. “Wouldn’t do no good anyhow. His mother’s been dead for two years already.”

Harry’s head whipped around as the man behind him keened, making a horrible sound before turning to face Harry and he’d never seen grief so devastating as what he saw in those gray eyes, even in the Weasley’s when Fred lay dead in front of them.

“Malfoy…”

They stared at each other as Tom started to speak. “Aye. And I’m sorry to be the one to tell you Draco lad, but I didn’t want you getting killed in my yard trying to get where you’re not supposed to be.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Draco pushed himself up as best he could and shuffled toward the gate.

Harry reached out and grabbed his arm just as Tom let out a shout. “Oi, stop that now. I don’t want the Auror’s bangin on my door because you’ve decided to off yourself!”

The arm in Harry’s hand was decidedly too thin and felt as fragile as glass. “Malfoy…” He stopped and lowered his voice back to the calm it was before. “Draco, come with me. I’ll take you to the hospital.”

Draco shook his head and feebly tried to pull out of Harry’s grasp. “No…no hospital…hurt…oh god…they hurt…”

Harry stroked Draco’s arm. “Shhh, it’s okay. I won’t take you there. Come to my house instead. Let me help you.”

Tom sighed behind him. “I told you Harry. If he tried to go anywhere within the Wizarding wards, he’ll die. It’s come straight from the top of the ministry.”

Harry couldn’t imagine his friend, Kingsley Shacklebolt ordering this kind of punishment on anyone, and started to protest.

“I know what you’re thinking…it wasn’t him. It was the idiots who were in charge before he took over.” He took another drag off his pipe before continuing. “I think he might be able fix it though.”

Harry closed his eyes and brought up a good memory with difficulty and cast his patronus. “Kingsley, I’m taking Draco Malfoy to my house. We’re going by side-along apparition and I want the ban on him entering the wizard world gone in the next few minutes. He’s under my care and protection so keep everyone else away, or they’ll be sorry.”

He sent it off before looking back at Draco. He smiled at him, trying to appear as friendly as possible. He wasn’t sure how much of the old Draco Malfoy remained and he didn’t want their past to get in the way of helping the other man.

“What do you say, Draco. Come with me? I live at Gimmuald Place. It’s an old Black estate, isn’t it?” Draco’s eyes held so much fear and sadness and Harry could feel it pulling at his heart. “You offered your hand to me in friendship once before. I was always sorry I didn’t find a way to take it. Maybe you can be braver now than I was then?”

Tears were falling down Draco’s face, leaving slightly cleaner lines where the grime was washed away. He seemed so young, and Harry wanted to know what had happened to him in the last three years.

He reached up and used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the tears from Draco’s face and smiled gently at the confusion on the other man’s face.

“I don’t know what happened to you, Draco. They told me there would be no trial for you after I testified for your mother. I’m sorry I didn’t realize what that meant. Please let me help you now like I should have then?” He reached down and carefully took Draco’s hand in his and waited.

The tears never stopped rolling down the other man’s face but Harry could see he was considering his words.

When Kingsley’s patronus appeared in front of him, he cursed as Draco startled back from him.

“It’s done, Harry. Explain it to me when you can.” When it had delivered its message, it disappeared, leaving the men alone in the courtyard.

Harry turned to Tom. “If you wouldn’t mind leaving us alone? I’ll take care of things from here.” He made it sound like a request but his tone said it wasn’t and Tom nodded and disappeared through the door.

“Scared…” Harry returned his gaze to Draco, that one word confession breaking his heart more than he ever thought possible.

“I know…and I’m sorry. Please, Draco. Come with me?” He was taking Draco with him whether he consented or not. Leaving him here just wasn’t an option for Harry, but he preferred not to drag him away, kicking and screaming.

Draco stared at him for a moment and then his eyes slipped shut. He turned his face up toward the sky, almost like he was praying before nodding. “Yes…okay…go with Potter.”

Harry breathed a sigh of relief then grinned. “I’d rather be Harry…if that’s okay?”

Draco nodded jerkily again. “Yes. Harry…okay.”

“Okay.” Harry patted his hand and stood up. “Can you stand up for me? I’d like to get an arm around you to apparate.”

Draco shook his head frantically. “No. Dirty…bugs…Harry no.”

Harry smiled at him sadly. “It’s okay Draco, I promise. I’ve done a charm to keep the bugs off and I’ll take us directly to my bathroom. We’ll have you cleaned up in no time. A little dirt doesn’t bother me.”

Draco looked at him, obviously assessing whether or not he was telling the truth. When he’d made up his mind, he started struggling to his feet but he couldn’t seem to stand up straight.

More tears welled up in his eyes as he looked up at Harry from under his lashes. “Can’t. Hurts.”

Harry was devastated by Draco’s physical condition. He was in a lot of pain and seemed unable to put together a complete sentence. Harry wasn’t sure if it was a physical issue or a mental one but it was something that would have to be explored.

“Will you let me help you?” He waited for Draco’s tentative nod and then cast a charm, banishing the lice and any other pests invading Draco’s body.

Once that was done, Harry approached him and slid one arm behind his shoulders and then the other behind his knees, picking him up carefully. He had a feeling that any jarring would cause the other man a lot of pain and Harry wanted to avoid that.

Draco was taller than Harry by almost a head, but he felt so light in Harry’s arms that carrying him was too easy. Draco looped one arm around Harry’s neck as his head fell bonelessly against Harry’s shoulder.

“I’m going to apparated us now, alright? Don’t be afraid, I won’t drop you.” He made sure that Draco secure in his arms and then apparated them to his house.

True to his word, they were in the bathroom off Harry’s bedroom and it had never looked so good. Harry had spent a lot of time fixing up the old place and the bathroom had been completely renovated.

There was a huge shower with a waterfall shower head in one corner and beside it was a large jetted tub. There was a chair in the corner and Harry summoned it and then transfigured it into a chair with arms, so that he had somewhere to set Draco that he couldn’t fall from.

“I’m going to set you here and then get a bath ready for you, if that’s okay? I’m afraid of you slipping in the shower until you get a little stronger.” Once again he waited for a small nod from Draco before setting him on the chair. The long arm around his neck tightened for a moment before finally letting go.

Harry set to work getting the tub ready, making the water warm but not too hot. Going from one extreme to the other would be too hard on Draco’s already damaged system.

“I need to tell you something Draco, because I want you to know I’m being honest with you. And I don’t want you to be afraid because I already promised I wouldn’t hurt you.”

Draco’s head lifted slightly, those gray eyes seeming to look into Harry’s soul.

“I’m assuming you don’t know what I’m doing to keep myself busy these days?” He took a deep breath before continuing. “I’m a nurse. I work at St. Mungo’s.”

Draco’s eyes widened and the fear that had been slowly receding came roaring back. He slid off the chair and skittered across the floor to cower against the wall.

Harry sighed and kept talking. “Was it St. Mungo’s where you were hurt?” He looked at Draco and got a short head shake. “Well that’s good to hear. I’d hate to think of any of the people I work with participating in something so horrible.”

When the tub was full, he turned off the water and sat on the floor, leaning back against the side. “I don’t know where it was that you were hurt and I wish I could change it but I can’t. All I can do is promise that I won’t do anything to hurt you. I’ll make an unbreakable vow if you want.”

Draco studied him before shaking his head once again.

“It’s just…I’m going to have to help you get in and out of the tub and I’m betting that getting undressed is going to be hard for you to do alone.” Harry let his head fall back until he was looking at the ceiling. “I don’t want you to be scared of me. I have enough people who are terrified every fucking time I walk in the door somewhere. I hate it more than just about anything and I don’t want to see it in you.”

He closed his eyes, trying to get control of his emotions. He became aware of a soft shuffling noise and then a soft touch on his ankle. He lifted his head and looked down to see Draco crouched by his feet, looking up at him.

“Help?” Draco was still scared. Harry could see it in every action, but he was almost positive that he was no longer really scared of Harry and it made the ball of anxiety that had taken up residence in his chest unclench a little.

Harry smiled and nodded. “Yeah, help.” He looked at Draco, trying to decide the best way to go about things. “Can we get you sitting on the chair again? Probably the easiest way to get you undressed.”

Draco looked over at the chair and sighed before nodding. He was unable to straighten up and Harry hoped that whatever damage was causing it, it wasn’t something permanent.

He almost crawled to the chair and sat down gently and Harry didn’t want to think about what could be causing him pain as he sat.

Walking over to the chair, he crouched down in front of Draco. “Can you take off your robe?” Draco nodded and unbuttoned the few buttons that remained attached to the fabric, and then pushed it off his shoulders. He had a muggle hoodie on under it and he tried to pull it off over his head, but the pain was obviously too much.

“I’m gonna help you now.” With Draco’s head stuck in the sweater, he didn’t want him startled when he touched him. Harry grabbed the hem and pulled up, being careful not to jar Draco unnecessarily.

There was only a baggy muscle shirt underneath that probably had been white at one point but was now the same dingy, grimy non-color as the rest of his clothing. It left his long arms and most of his chest and neck exposed and Harry got his first horrifying look at Draco’s wounds.

“Oh—“ He clasped his hand over his mouth, desperately trying to stop the shout of anger that coursed through him at the inhumane treatment that Draco had received.

There were metal shackles around his wrists and they must have been tight at one point. They had rubbed the skin under them raw and left oozing sores all around them. Sickened, Harry whispered a quiet “Alohomora” and unlocked both cuffs, catching them before they could clatter to the floor.

They were muggle and would have been easy for Draco to get out of if he would have had his magic. Draco whimpered and Harry rubbed his hand up and down his arm, trying to not make contact with anything that might be sore. It didn’t leave a lot of skin to touch.

There was a metal collar around Draco’s neck and parts of it seemed to be embedded in Draco’s skin. Harry stifled a sob and looked up. “I’m going to take this off in the bath. I’m hoping the water will help it pull away with less pain.”

Draco nodded and then reached one hand up to brush away tears that Harry hadn’t even realized were falling. “Okay Harry?” His brow was wrinkled in confusion, like he really didn’t know why Harry was so upset.

Dropping his head, he took a deep breath and tried to get a hold of himself. “I’m okay Draco. Just sad.”

Draco frowned. “Sorry Harry. I…I make you sad…” he trailed off and looked down at his hands that were sitting in his lap. Harry shook his head and reached out the lay his hands over Draco’s.

“No. What’s happened to you makes me sad. But not you. I think I’m very glad to have found you again.” Draco looked up at him and smiled shyly at him. Harry had never seen Draco smile that way before. They had all been smiles that were full of malice and anger. This one was beautiful and it took Harry’s breath away.

Harry smiled back and finally was able to stop the tears. “Right then…let’s get you undressed and into the tub before it gets cold, alright?”

He reached for the hem of Draco’s muscle shirt and pulled it off one arm and then the other before easing it over his head. He tossed it in the corner and when he saw the condition of the rest of Draco’s torso, he found himself wishing that there was a curse that would let him inflict the damage done to Draco on the people who had tortured him.

He was a mass of bruises and welts and there were marks all over him that suggested that he’d been whipped. There were open wounds in various stages of healing and some that had been infected for some time. Harry had seen many of these wounds before, but never all on one person.

“Oh Draco…I’m so sorry this happened.” He looked up into those gray eyes, like maybe he could figure out their secrets if he just tried hard enough. “Who did this to you?”

He felt so guilty for not keeping better tabs on Draco and making sure he was okay. He’d spent so long being obsessed with the man and had tried to leave him in peace. Apparently he’d picked the wrong time to stop stalking him.

Draco reached up and touched his fingertips to Harry’s face and a new fierceness shone in his eyes. “Not you.”  



End file.
